This paper presents REGENERATE, a patented hydrometallurgical process developed by Ever Resource Ltd (part of the Regenerate Technology group), designed to upcycle lead-acid battery (LAB) waste into high-performance, battery-grade leady oxide. The purpose of this research is to reduce the environmental footprint of the LAB supply chain, which is currently dominated by high-emission pyrometallurgical recycling.

Our method uses a two-step approach: organic acid leaching to extract lead from spent battery paste, followed by thermal decomposition of a metal-organic framework (intermediate) to yield nanostructured Pb/PbO. This oxide outperforms incumbent materials in electrochemical tests,with independent testing carried out by a US company showing greater than 100% increase in the active surface area of the material (compared to Barton pot leady oxides). This results in high electrochemical activity – with up to 40% higher energy capacity demonstrated in a laboratory setting – while the process significantly reduces waste (slag formation) and emissions.

The technology has been successfully demonstrated at pilot scale (5 tonnes/hour paste input) and is now being scaled commercially with partners. Further work is ongoing to optimise formulations for bi-polar battery designs and to validate long-term performance in a variety of battery formats.

This contribution highlights the opportunity to embed circularity in heavy industry and demonstrates the feasibility of replacing incumbent smelting with a low-carbon, modular solution that fits within existing battery manufacturing infrastructure.

Keywords:
lead-acid batteries, hydrometallurgy, battery recycling, circular economy, upcycling